Florida Republican Rick Scott wins his second term in the U.S. Senate

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott handily defeated former Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell to win a second term on Tuesday, and he will now seek a run Leadership of the Senate.

Scott hopes to succeed U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is retiring as GOP leader but at this point is considered a spoilsport behind John Thune and John Cornyn of Texas of South Dakota. His victory in Florida confirmed the Republican Party’s strength in the state despite ballot measures Abortion rights And Recreational marijuana Democrats hoped legalization would increase voter turnout.

Scott needed a recount to win his first Senate election in 2018, but then Democrats had the advantage in voter registration. This year, Republicans now outnumber Democrats by about a million voters, and Scott’s victory came two years after the landslide victories of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.

“This is a team event,” Scott said to 350 cheering supporters at a Naples hotel, many of whom held signs reading “Scott will be Senate majority leader.” “Together we can celebrate the big victory tonight.”

Scott said he made his failed challenge to McConnell two years ago because he believed the Senate needed change to solve “the problems of this country.”

“Florida is the center of the Republican Party in this country,” said Scott, who served as governor from 2011 to 2019. He also won these two races by less than 2 percentage points. “Washington can learn a lot from what we have done here in this great state.”

Mucarsel-Powell told subdued supporters in Miami in her concession speech that she was proud of the campaign she ran. She said it was an opportunity to show Democrats a new perspective on what they could do together. The party has been plagued by power struggles and leadership problems for years.

“This state needs a lot of love. It takes a lot of work. I won’t lie. But I want you to think about it,” Mucarsel-Powell said. “We didn’t win this fight, but the fight is just beginning.”

About a quarter of Florida voters said they didn’t know enough about Mucarsel-Powell to form an opinion about her. The results come from AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of more than 4,700 voters in the state. Of those who had an opinion, about four in 10 said they viewed the former representative in a positive light. About a quarter of voters viewed her negatively.

Voters were far more familiar with Scott, with about half viewing him favorably.

Although Florida is considered to be rather conservative, the… Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee insisted that Scott be vulnerable. But national Democrats were slow to invest in Florida, one of the states with the highest purchasing prices for campaign advertising.

Mucarsel-Powell was the first Ecuadorian-born congresswoman to be born in South America when she was elected in 2018, but she lost re-election in 2020 to U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez. Her campaign focused on abortion rights, gun safety and Latino politics.

Scott won despite some bumps in his political resume, including failing to secure a GOP majority as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee two years ago. Scott also failed to oust McConnell from the Senate leadership by a vote of 37-10.

For months, Scott criticized President Joe Biden’s handling of immigration and the national debt. He also criticized the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Scott met frequently with Jewish leaders to discuss support for Israel. He also campaigned for former President Donald Trump.

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Associated Press reporters David Fischer in Miami and Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.